Every piece of information revealed so far about Disney Plus’ upcoming animated Marvel Studios series Spider-Man: Freshman Year has only served to worsen everyone’s headaches trying to figure out what universe the show is actually set in.
Although it was initially sold as the MCU’s Peter Parker’s origin story before his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, as soon as Marvel released further details on Freshman Year‘s cast of characters at San Diego Comic-Con, fans were left in a state of total confusion.
Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum came to the rescue in an interview with ComicBook.com where he confirmed the animated series will function more as a “what if?” scenario, where it’s Norman Osborne waiting for Peter at Aunt May’s apartment and not Tony Stark, “because of new, random occurrences” in the multiverse.
The Illuminerdi has released a detailed breakdown of the new faces coming to Spider-Man: Freshman Year, based on rumored casting calls.
Aunt May is a “Caucasian woman in her 40s who sounds Marisa Tomei-esque” and will be “a loving aunt to Peter,” as well as a “fun loving jokester with wisdom beyond her years.”
Marvel is also looking to cast a “Caucasian man in his late 40s” for the role of Peter’s mentor, which should fit the character of Norman Osborne nicely. He is described as “enigmatic and confident, but sometimes humorous.”
The casting call for a “Japanese teenage girl” as the “snarky, but caring best friend” fits the character of Nico Minoru. The description reveals she has a “apathetic and goth aesthetic” in order to “divert attention when things get too personal.”
“A Korean male in his late teens,” set to be “the epitome of a “tech bro” who is “constantly showing off his intellect” is rumored to be Amadeus Cho, while the possible casting of Lonnie Lincoln described the character as “an African-American male in his teens,” who is the “hardworking and charming Captain of the Bales High School Football team.
As far as new characters are concerned, Spider-Man: Freshman Year will reportedly feature a character named Shin (“a Junior at Bales High School and Varsity Swim team star,” who will be voiced by a teenage Filipina girl), Mel (a Korean-African-American fashion influencer), Liza (a South-African “genius science prodigy exchange student”), and Raven (a “blunt and straight forward Caucasian teenage girl”).
The casting call also requests a “a man in his early 20s of any ethnicity” to play “an impulsive criminal whose biggest weakness is his own incompetence.”
Apart from this group of characters, Marvel had previously revealed Charlie Cox will be coming back as the voice of Daredevil, and other Spidey comic book favorites such as Bentley Whitman, Doctor Strange, Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Scorpion, Chameleon, Speed Demon, Tarantula and Unicorn.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year is coming to Disney Plus in 2024, and has already been confirmed for a second season.